Chapter 1
The sun shines down upon the busy streets of England as the citizens go on to their daily activities, carriages passing by, street vendors selling their goods, children running to school, and busy people and toons going to work, it was a normal day to everyone.
Just outside of the city and into the nearby green farm lands of the region there stood a medium sized house, embroidered with floral paintings on it's window frames in different colors, a tiled roof in the color of light red with few molds of age, it was a quiet and peaceful house from afar even from the inside.
A lady, with an ashy brown hair of curls tied into a gorgeous bun, as she prepared herself, with some help, the maids helped her by assisting her with the choosing of her clothing, she was never really good with her fashion sense, especially in this age, the women then stood back as they take a look at their Mistress with adoration.
"Lady Helen you look so young in that dress!" One of the maids compliments as she intertwined her fingers, Helen then gave a smile and had to agree that the dress really suited her, a white ruffled and laced top that covers her neck and wrist, and a hip leveled of a dark royal blue skirt that is embroidered with curves, with some matching heels to finish the simple yet beautiful outfit.
"I wish I could have a body like yours, it's like you don't age at all!" One of the maids continued with pure adoration as she let Helen wear her favorite brown coat. Helen then simply just let out a smile,
"thank you ladies, but this beauty won't last very long, but I guess it's good to cherish this kind of beauty" Helen said a bit bashful by the compliments she's getting, she wasn't the only one who have this kind of trait, her mother still looks beautiful even when she's already aged, she guessed this trait runs in the family of her mother's side.
The door to the living room was then opened to reveal her mother rolling towards her in her wheelchair, with a beautiful smile on her wrinkled face.
"Helen dear have you taken your breakfast?" Her mother asked in an aged and caring voice as she held Helen's hand making Helen bend down to get to her height of view.
"I'm running late mother, but I'll be sure to take my breakfast in the city" Helen said as she smiled at her mother before giving her a kiss on the forehead, Helga gave out a satisfied hum feeling her daughter's love,
"alright then dear be careful on your way to the city ok?" Helen then smiled revealing her trade mark dimple on the left side of her mouth, and just in time the sound of the carriage arriving in front of the house,
"Well I guess I'll be going now mother" she said as she gave her mother a kiss on the cheek before taking her bag with her and greeted everyone goodbye.
"Goodbye Lady Helen!" All the maids said as she got in the carriage, "goodbye ladies, please take care of mother" Helen said as she looked at the driver who joyfully smiled at her as the horse started to gallop towards the city.
"Good mornin' Miss Helen!" He greeted her with an accent while tipping his towards her, Helen the smiled as greeted the goofy toon back
"Good morning to you too Redbeard, you seem happy, what happened?" she then rested her head on the chair as she waved goodbye to her mother and the maids in the distance,
"Beeeautiful Mornin' today Miss Helen! Today big ol Betty gave birth to 'er first baby that I've been waitin' for! Moma was sure 'appy that we finally got more cows in our barn!" Redbeard said while swaying side to side as if there were a music playing, Helen then smiled as she looked out the window and set her eyes in the seemingly endless green fields,
"well then congratulations, why don't you show me the calf next time?" Helen asked thinking of getting to look at an adorable baby cow for the second time,
"it will be my pleasure Miss Helen!" Redbeard joyfully agreed as he continues to rant on about yesterday and what to do today, he is just a bundle of sunshine to Helen and the other farmers that lived nearby.
This is Helen Stine, a woman by the age of 31, and is both journalist and a writer, she lives outside of the city with her old and aged mother Helga Stine, why are they living there you may ask, Helga wanted to live in a quiet, peaceful, and a spacious environment, be away from the troubles of the city, and to also keep her daughter from harm.
You see Helen used to serve the government as a Spy, when it was the time of war between the toons and the humans, it was never really a good time, her father was drafted, leaving her and her mother alone, it was a difficult time,
she was offered to become a Spy by one of her former colleague who was at that time working for the government, after the first spy before her got captured and killed, she was told that she is the perfect replacement for the role, she was smart, and persistent but she was never really good in combat like most women in that day and age.
Although the idea of becoming a spy was very fictional and "out of this world" to even think of but then again some impossible things can come possible
She persue her offer to become a Spy after hearing her father was missing in action, she continues to believe that he is alive and somewhere within the enemy base, in hopes to maybe find him while she goes along with her missions. Her mother was up against this idea but seeing to how her daughter was determined to find her father once more she let her go.
On the day the war ended by the two opposing sides forming a trues, her job as a Spy ended, in exchange to the role she once had, her experiences in the past gave her a case of PTSD, despite successfully completing missions and earning money from the government she wasn't successful on finding her long lost father, this made her feel unaccomplished, it was at this time that she decided to let go on her believes that her father was still alive, it was a difficult thing to let go especially her mother, who had a hard time trying to get over her husband's "death".
As the years passed Helen then became a Journalist then became an author of a book she wrote called "Through The Eyes Of A Raven", it was her own choice, when she realized that she loved to tell stories that is based on a real life situation or event, she wrote down multiple journal entries about various happenings in her country and then transport it into her novel, illegal, supernatural, and political subjects, and well let's just say she wasn't that successful in being a journalist or author more than her being a Spy, but she loved to write her personal experiences which made her not give up on her role.
The smell of smoke and pastry filled her noes, as they got nearer to the entrance of the city, she stuck her head out through the window and took in the toxicated air and let out a sigh.
"Hello Rosewood City" she thought to herself
The Horse continued to gallop into the crowded streets with caution this time, as loud vehicles, people and toons passes by, tall streetlights, houses and buildings in various size and design, and the lack of greenery. Redbeard took notice of this and decided to comfort the horse just in case things get out of hands,
"don't worry girl daddy's got ya!" He said while guiding the horse through the streets, the horse then managed to calm down after a few moments of being guided and not really getting into accidents, Redbeard then leaned back to the opening behind him and asked Helen,
"So where ya gettin' down Miss Helen?" Helen then snapped out of her daze as she looked around for a bit before taking out a letter that was sent to her and read the location for their meeting,
"To the Rosewood Hall, oh and once we arrive there you can head home if you want, your horse seems like it can't handle a crowded place" Helen said while making sure that she brought everything she needed in her bag, she knew that this wasn't the usual horse that Redbeard used to travel with, the former one got old and weak and ended up staying in the barn, which is unusual for a horse to be doing, but then again everything has their limits.
"Are ya sure Miss Helen? Cause it's really difficult to find a carriage that travels out side of the city" the toom said as he took a turn,
"There are Taxi Cabs I can take but it causes a lot of money" Helen then checked her wallet to see if she had enough money for a Taxi Cab, well it's just enough if she persuades the driver for a discount, Redbeard then spotted the Hall and picked up the horse's pace,
"Alright then Miss Helen be careful on your way!"
Redbeard said as he went down and opened the door for her before taking her hand in his round and large ones to guide her down the small stairs of the carriage,
Helen then thanked him as she gave him a quick and rewarding kiss on the cheek as comical hearts started to float out of his head and pop like bubbles, his hat floated a few inches high before landing back to his half-balded head and letting out a sigh, this actions made Helen laugh for a bit, finding it cute, cartoon logic was always funny to Helen.
"Goodbye Redbeard, be careful on your way back as well" Helen greeted as the sight of the carriage disappeared into the city streets, Helen let out a sigh and turned to look to the large white building behind her, this Hall was the biggest building in this city due to the amount of offices that are held inside, this place somehow works as a police station and at the same time a place for business meetings, she then went through the glass doors as the guard greeted her while he opened the door for her, she was then greeted with a busy lounge covered in white polished tiles, celling decorated with carvings of roses and leaves and a medium sized chandelier in the middle.
"Lots of things has changed since my last visit here…" Helen thought to herself as she sat down in one of the waiting benches, things surely have changed, the people, the structure, even the designs, as far as she can remember, this place was never really that stylishly eye-catching, this made her think setting her next book revolving around the time of dynasty, as she waited and think for a few hour and a half, she started to grow impatient, thinking that this might just be a random person or toon setting her up, making her check the letter time from time again just to make sure that it was a legitimate business letter, and it really was, but just before she could leave she heard a man's or a Toon's voice call out to her,
"Excuse me, are you perhaps the Journalist and Writer I've sent the letter to?" She turned around to see a black suited toon with a blue necktie, and a mug for a head, with a blue and white straw sticking out from it's rim, she then took notice of his gloved hand was pointing at the letter she was holding, she then put two on two together and realized that this was the person who sent her the letter, her age has made her slower than usual,
"ah, yes that's me, um the name's Helen Stine" she said as she shook his hand and smiled, the toon does the same as well, as he smiled,
"pleasure to meet you Lady Helen, the name's Mughead, well it's quite obvious" he said as he pointed towards his head and let out a chuckle, Helen chuckled as well as she, he looked around for a bit until he found the large clock on the wall and back to Helen, and motioned her to come with him,
"How long have you been waiting here if you don't mind me asking" Mughead asked as he continues to slowdown his pace just for Helen to catch-up with him, he was a tall toon after all,
Helen looked to the side for a bit trying to find a way to not sound annoyed,
"Just an hour and a half" Mughead groaned to himself the moment he heard her reply, he then massages his temples clearly annoyed by something or someone,
"I'm so sorry that I made you wait for a long time, I had to take care of my brother's mess, and he kept saying that you'd be coming late anyway, guess he was wrong" Mughead was visibly guilt ridden to have a woman wait for him for a long time, she found it rather sweet of him,
"No worries, I'm just an "early bird", I'm quite used to this type of thing" Helen said as they started to head out of the Hall, Mughead then head towards his car that was an expensive black car, the toon then opened the door for Helen to get in before him.
Once inside the car Mughead looked at the driver for a bit before facing back to Helen and asked,
"You haven't perhaps, taken your breakfast right?" Mughead asked, just before Helen could answer her stomach growled in hunger making her feel embarrassed, Mughead then told the driver to bring them to the nearest coffee shop for Helen to take her breakfast, Helen was about to protest since they haven't really discussed their business yet,
"I haven't taken my breakfast as well, so no worries, Lady Helen" Mughead said while patting his empty stomach, he had to take care of alot of things back in the company, after his dear brother got into some trouble, making have to attend multiple conferences just to clean his name or "their" name at this point.
The coffee shop was rather small in size and not much people where in it, two stories high, the place looked simple in both outside and inside, she expected a grand coffee shop where most wealthy people would buy their well baked pastries, but then again this one of the time to never really judge a book by its cover.
Mughead approached the counter and talked to the barista for a bit before Mughead motioned for Helen to follow him upstairs,
"It's better to talk about our business here, this case is rather classified, and it'd be bad if someone accidentally eavesdropped on our conversation" Mughead said while leading then to the second floor, there a long coffee table was placed surrounded by a long black sofa and on the sides of the walls were bookselfs stacked with various kinds of books, and on the far end of the room there stood a small TV with a record player playing the greatest hit song of this year, Mughead brought in some prepared coffee and placed them on the coffee table along with some sugared pastries, and motioned for Helen to take her seat,
"We can discuss our matters here for now, let's enjoy our breakfast for now while we wait for my brother to arrive" Mughead then picked up a cookie and ate it before mixing the sugary goodness with well brewed black coffee,
Helen decided to busy herself by reading one of the books while listening to the alluring manly voice of the singer that fills the silent room, she can see why this song is a great hit, it was calming, and beautiful, the instruments blended together with the voice of the singer who keeps hitting the perfect notes and keys every single time, if memory serves her right the name of the singer is Andy Benjamin, he was not only popular to women but to the paparazzi as well, she wondered how long will this singer stay on the Top.
"I can't stand his voice, it's so damm annoying" A voice suddenly snapped Helen out from her dazed sleep, as she looked around and spotted the time only to see that she has been sleeping for just 10 minutes, Mughead looked at the door as the person or toon who said those strangely harsh words came through revealing a man, who wore the same suite as Mughead but has a red necktie, and his head was that of a cup with a red and white straw hanging from the rim, he looked similar to Mughead, who was just finishing his cup of coffee,
"This must be the brother that Mr. Mughead spoke about" Helen thought to herself as she sat up straight and unconsciously sipped on her empty cup before giving it to Mughead who was finished with his cup.
"You finally came brother, Helen meet Cuphead, Cuphead meet Helen" Mughead said while taking his now empty cup and putting it in the sink as he washed his ungloved hands
"Why in the world are you listening to this demon's voice?" Cuphead said while stopping the music from playing, he then looked at Helen and then straightened himself,
"Guess they weren't wrong when they said the hated hate him with passion" Helen thought as she thought back to how one of her friends described to her the popularity of Andy B.
"But why go as far to call him a Demon?"
"Oh nice to meet you too Lady Helen, sorry about that earlier, I just have grudges when it comes to devils and demons, wait aren't they the same thing?" Cuphead said while taking a seat across her as he place down a brown briefcase and took a cookie from the basket, he laid back as he chewed on the cookie with a laid back expression indicating that he is the type to not really get into trouble with, cause he will most likely make the problem worse.
"Likewise, Mr. Cuphead" the lack of music made the room more awkward than when it was with her a Mughead only together, with the sound of the running water could only be heard and the only thing keeping them company,
"So, why don't we get down to business?"
Mughead said as he wipes his hands with a towel before putting it back to where it once was, as the two brothers sat together, Cuohead brought out a briefcase that he brought along with him, Helen wondered to what kind of case this maybe, whatever it will be she knows she has to be ready for it.